A Mother’s Opinion Can Trigger Depression In Kids Decades Later

This confirms my dinosaur status—The Smothers Brothers famous comedy bit “Mom always liked you best”. I remember it well from 1965 when I was 13!  The Smothers Brothers was a cool, crazy and controversial TV show that featured the comedic and musical relationship between its two stars, Tommy and Dickie Smothers.

Tommy often joked that their mother loved Dick the most. Clearly Tommy had “issues” but now science points out the problems that can occur to those on either end of the spectrum of a mother’s love.

A new study from Purdue University finds adults who felt they were Mom's favorite --and adults who felt they had the most issues with Mom (the perceived “least loved” child)-- were both more likely to be depressed as adults.

The offspring were polled on seven different measures of depression, including loneliness, trouble sleeping, and general sadness. They also answered questions about which sibling was closest to Mom, which had the most arguments with her, which made her most proud and which disappointed her most often.

Grown-ups who felt that they were the closest emotionally to their mothers were more likely to be depressed, as well as people who identified as having the most conflict with their moms, and who felt their moms were most disappointed in them. The disappointment effect was especially clear in African-American families.

Researchers used data from 725 adult children within 309 different families whose mothers were 65 to 75 years old when the study began in 2001. The results are in the Journal of Gerontology: Social Science . Just for laughs, chuckle along with the Smothers Brothers 50 –oh my gosh!- years ago!